I am still under the spell of our reunion dinner on 23 Feb 1991 in the White Eagle Club in Balham. For me, my sister Ala and brother Janusz, it was a deeply emotional reliving of the past. Before my eyes I could picture beautiful Wołyń, the Krechowiecka settlement and Równe. In a word, the land of my childhood, idealised through the prism of time.

I remember Horyń, that dark and treacherous river, in which we used to go swimming with Włodek and Zbyszek Radomski, who used to come for vacation from Równe to stay with our aunt and uncle. I remember beautiful meadows surrounding Równe, covered in the bewitching strong smell of marigolds, ‘sweet rush‘ and ‘bird cherry‘ which I have never smelt or come across since in the rest of my days. I remember the forests surrounding the Krechowiecka settlement, towards the Ukrainian village of Kożlin. I used to go to this forest with my sister Ala and our mum or sometimes our nan, to pick mushrooms.

It was also here in the woodland that the family Łowicki lived. They had four daughters and we, with Ala, befriended the girls. Their house was surrounded by fields of violets. Fields were covered in colour - one in white and the next purple. A tiny stream flowed through the forest, the water was crystal clear, the bottom covered in golden sand where tiny green frogs lived. As children, we sat on the bank of the stream, catching the little frogs so we could touch and examine them and throw them back into the stream.

I also remember the road to Aleksandria which we used to walk with Ala and nan on Sundays to church, as apparently on this side of the settlement it was nearer to Aleksandria and the views were beautiful, leading through woodland. These memories relived so strongly in my mind that I wish to share them because they underline the magic of Osada Krechowiecka and the region of Wołyń.

I attach a photo given to me by my uncle Walery Radomski taken at the Settlement.